Mapping the Bacteria in New York’s Subways

Every day, New York City’s 5.5 million commuters seed the city subways with bacteria from the food they eat, the pets or plants they keep, and their shoes, sneezes and unwashed hands.

For the first time, researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College sampled DNA in New York City’s 466 open subway stations. They found genetic material from 15,152 different species, most of them harmless or unidentified. Almost half the DNA belonged to bacteria. No two subway stations were exactly the same, and the research continues.

So far, the scientists have identified 67 bacteria species associated with disease and infections. Here are details on a few of the bacteria found. Related article »

Published Feb. 5, 2015

Find a station:

Select a bacteria association for more detail.

Samples at this station:

Identified DNA at this location:

Identified among nonbacterial DNA:

Where Certain Types of Bacteria Were Found

Select a category below to see the stations where researchers found the associated types of bacteria.

Notes: Two stations were closed in Brooklyn and could not be sampled: Central Av (served by M trains) and Kings Highway (B and Q trains). In some cases, data from different subway lines have been combined at station complexes.

Sources: PathoMap Project, Weill Cornell Medical College, American Society for Microbiology, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, U.S. National Library of Medicine, MSDSonline, MicrobeWiki, Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Mapbox, OpenStreetMap, Ontodia